Under the Moonlight
by The Genius Mage
Summary: Giftfic, BBS spoiler-free, light VenxAqua. When it had been just the pair of them under the moonlight near the water's edge, everything had felt so strangely right...


_~*Under the Moonlight*~_

_He was the **wind**, and she was the **sea**, two things simply meant to **be.**_

_~***~_

Ventus opened one eye and yawned, the other quickly following. Moonlight flowed in a long, uninterrupted silver stream through his window, falling across the blue covers of his bed. Outside, the stars glimmered like tiny frozen tear drops against a background of deep, ebony black.

_Wonder what woke me up,_ he thought, shaking his head and rubbing at his mess of upswept blonde-gold hair. He had been so exhausted from training that he had simply collapsed onto his bed without changing out of his clothes. Ven grimaced, adjusting the bright bronze armor piece on his shoulder. He thought he'd be out until morning.

Odd.

Ventus was about to just go back to sleep when he saw a flash of white down in the gardens. He propped himself up on the windowsill, narrowing sky blue eyes and staring hard, his quick gaze flicking from left to right as he searched for the source. Or maybe it was just a trick of the light?

Another vibrant gleam. Definitely not a trick. Frowning slightly, head tilted to the side, Ven's mind jumped from the sluggishness of drowsiness to wide awake in an instant. That was _Aqua_, and that had been her shoulder brace that had reflected the moon. What was she doing out so late? Judging by the moon's position, it was around one or two in the morning.

Ventus got out of bed, quickly slipping his armored shoes on, opening his bedroom door and closing it again hastily, before any of the various glowing devices in his room attracted unwanted attention. Not that anyone else was awake. Terra was probably sound asleep.

Taking swift but quiet steps, the youngest protégé snuck down the flight of stairs and exited via the main gateway, leaving the huge double doors partially opened. Ventus really put on the speed then, hurtling after Aqua, enjoying the feeling of the wind in his hair and the sensation of his body working all of its muscles to get him to whatever his destination may be. It was not unlike a warm heat that coursed through his system.

Ven, unexpectedly curious, slowed down as Aqua came into view. He crouched low, placing one hand over his armor piece so that it wouldn't bounce any light back to the unsuspecting girl.

_I wonder what she's doing out here?_

Aqua paused amidst the trees that fanned out from the Castle in the Land of Departure. The foliage gradually thickened into a forest, being dense enough for Ven to dart from shrub to bush unnoticed as she continued onward, apparently reassuring herself that no one was there. The blue haired girl walked calmly but quickly at the same time, so intent on what she wanted that she didn't once glance behind her.

A fair-sized river came into view, a hissing, watery snake that brightly echoed the moon's pale light. It gurgled and complained as it slammed against its own sandy banks, tumbling downhill to form a waterfall before continuing on again in a straight, even line. It was almost as if someone had simply drawn a stream into the landscape with a pencil and colored it in.

Aqua stopped near the water's edge, staring into its depths, her brow slightly creased. Ven knew what that meant. She was thinking, and hard, too.

_What's on your mind?_ Ven said in his head since he couldn't speak out loud without attracting her attention. He crouched low amongst the fragrant green ferns, inhaling their earthy aroma, inventing a series of answers in his mind that got more and more extreme the longer Aqua gazed into the river. Not being extremely patient, unlike Terra, Ven started toying with one of the rings on his fingers.

Her head suddenly snapped up, a decision made. Aqua took a deep breath, summoning her Keyblade in a chiming ivory flash, her pose becoming more relaxed. She settled into her usual combat stance, then, as Ven watched breathlessly, she started to do what he could only describe as either figure skating, or _dancing._

Aqua's body became encased in white light. It flowed from her Keyblade and down her arms, over her shoulders and onto her back until an entire dome had spread over her head, shimmering and trembling, casting a magnificent radiance into the clearing. She carefully and deliberately began to spin, her gracefulness astounding, and Ven leaned forward out of the shadows of the trees to see better, his eyes riveted on the sight.

Her whirling picked up in speed, going faster and faster, the moonlight catching her shoulder brace, her armor, her eyes, until it seemed she was nothing more than a white and silver specter twirling elegantly near the riverbank. She, for the entire world, seemed to be figure skating. Her feet slid over the grass as if she was standing on invisible ice, though she never once lost her balance. Aqua lifted her arms, twisted her legs, her eyes fixed somewhere only she could see. Her dance continued to such a frantic pace that Ven thought even _he _wouldn't be able to keep up. She was just a blur now, an angel spinning amidst the light that was streaming from her Keyblade and her body in a magnificent swirl of divine energy. Ven gasped involuntarily as he caught a glimpse of one of her poses—bent over slightly, one leg bent behind her head as pivoted, she was so _athletic_—and he knew she heard him…

Because she stopped.

Abruptly, she shot him a startled look and ended up unbalancing herself. The magic that seemed to make the earth lose its friction vanished, and Aqua stumbled as she came precariously close to the roaring water. She regained her composure though, coming to a halt just before she fell in. Taking two steps back without looking at him, breathing hard, she mumbled just loud enough for him to hear, "Hey, Ven."

Ventus stepped to her side excitedly in just a few strides. He couldn't keep the awe from his voice, didn't even try. "That was _amazing_, Aqua! Wow! You were great!"

Her Keyblade disappeared with its typical ceremonious flare. "Thank you," she replied stiffly. He could tell from the set of her shoulders that she was just embarrassed. Embarrassed he had been watching.

Ven gave her his brightest smile. "I thought you were fantastic, no worries, Aqua."

Aqua peeked at him from the corner of her eyes, blue hair falling in a thin veil over her face. She didn't say anything, but he saw the silent appreciation in her gaze.

"Well," he began merrily. "I—"

"What are you doing awake, Ven?" Aqua interrupted.

"Gimme a break, Aqua. You're awake too," he reminded her. "I don't remember Master Eraqus saying anything about you training _after_ hours."

She smiled somewhat ruefully. "No, he didn't I suppose. I just wanted to get some extra practice in."

"Can I help?"

Aqua sighed and turned to him, arms crossed. "You need to rest. I'll be fine. Really."

Ven pouted playfully. "But I want to see you dance!"

"Dance?" Her tone was incredulous.

"Isn't that what you were doing?" Ven tilted his head again, confused.

Aqua laughed. "I guess you could say that," she shrugged. "But really, I was practicing a move of mine, Shiny Bloom, or Shining Bloom. Whichever."

"Shiny Bloom?" Ven echoed curiously. He pretended to study her from all angles, circling her with an expression of exaggerated interest. "Well, I want to help. I thought you looked graceful, Aqua, like a ballerina or something. If ballerinas kicked as much butt as you do."

Aqua's face turned slightly pink with the praise. "Thank you," she said again. "But…you won't leave until I agree, will you?"

"Correction!" Ven put one finger up and waggled it condescendingly. "I won't leave until you come back to the Castle with me."

The set of her mouth changed slightly, and it seemed she would argue. Then, just like that, her expression smoothed out. "Of course, Ven," she agreed reluctantly. "But you _really_ need your rest."

"That doesn't work on me. So do you." He set his jaw stubbornly.

Aqua smiled at that. "Alright, alright. Okay. Face me."

Ven quickly scrambled from her side to her front. "Do I need my Keyblade?"

"Not really. If you want."

Ven shrugged and summoned the weapon, pointing it backward as was his wont, bending his knees slightly as he prepared for whatever Aqua had in store. The girl considered his posture for a moment before saying;

"For this spell, I need a sort of…_exact_ movement. I have to perform it just right, or the ending result won't be the same."

"You mean it's a dance offensive spell?" Ven gawked at her in shock. "Like your dancing is literally to _die for_?"

Aqua put one hand over her face for a second, smothering her grin and the laughter that accompanied it. "Ven," she amended hastily. "It's not really that. It's a little over your head since you and Terra don't study magic like I do."

"Should I?"

"Only if it works for you." A shrug. "Anyway…Can you stay as close to me as you can without actually touching me?"

He gave her a blank look.

"It'll help me keep my movements…careful," she explained.

"You were doing fine by the riverbank," Ven said this as more of a question than a statement, his tone disbelieving.

"But I need _control_. I don't want to hurt my friends while I'm doing this spell." Aqua added in a softer tone, mostly to herself, head slightly to the side, "And I'd _never_ hurt you." The crease was back between her eyes. Thoughtful.

Ven was struck with the sudden, unexplainable urge to smooth out the little furrow with his fingers. He frowned, wondering where that had come from. Misinterpreting his expression, Aqua suddenly assured him that he didn't have to if he didn't want to.

"No, it's fine." Ventus stepped close to her, once again forced to acknowledge their height difference, and grinned at her. "Let's get to it!" He snickered. "So, you think you can _dance?_"

Aqua rolled her eyes but grinned anyway. She carefully summoned her Keyblade again and after eyeing him warily, she started her graceful dance. Ven concentrated entirely on her body, stepping backwards, ducking, and weaving to avoid being hit. When her spinning began to rapidly accelerate, Ven accelerated with her, his eyes locked on hers, stepping backwards as her cascading twirls brought her a little closer to him than he liked.

Ven realized now, as he evaded swipe after swipe of her Keyblade and any of the burning strands of white light that billowed from her body like ethereal wings, that there _had_ been flaws in the first ritual she had performed. This Shiny Bloom was different, more elaborate, quicker and flawless. Her arms and legs, the Keyblade too, never once strayed from their correct positions.

It was like the world's most interesting choreography, with Ven acting as Aqua's partner. They had crept closer to the waterfall, and its cool spray tickled Ven's neck. He couldn't take another pace backwards without entering the shallow water at the edge of the bank, so he jumped, bent, and twisted his body every which way to keep Aqua from touching him.

Even though their stylish spiraling seemed to take ages, Ventus knew that only seconds had passed when the energy flared off brilliantly and faded into the sky as silver sparkles, glowing brighter than the moon and stars.

Silence, except for Ven's heaving breaths and Aqua's controlled pants.

"Terra couldn't have done that. He's not fast enough," Aqua remarked suddenly. She stepped back from him and smiled vividly, her teeth gleaming. "Thank you, for the help, Ven."

Ven straightened up; her words warming his entire system so that it seemed his whole world had begun to pleasantly burn. He folded his arms behind his head and winked. "No problem! Anytime!" Okay, _now_ he was exhausted, though. The mere concept of walking made him almost balk.

Aqua studied his face. "Let's go home," she instructed him calmly. "You look exhausted."

Glancing at the dark rings beginning to form under her eyes, Ven shrugged. "You do too."

Silently, the two apprentices left the silver river and headed through the woods, back up the hill, and into the gardens that fringed the Castle. Once they had actually made it to the main hallway that housed their rooms, Aqua turned to him, her voice quiet, soft, so she wouldn't disturb Terra. Master Eraqus slept on a different floor.

"Get some rest, Ven. See you in the morning."

"Yeah," Ven agreed cheerily, yawning enormously. He blushed a brilliant pink so intense that it was almost red as Aqua gave him a quick, gentle kiss on the cheek, her warm lips lingering slightly in an unfamiliar, though not unpleasant, way. Her face, when she pulled back, also carried signs of a blush. She gave one final wave and slipped into her chambers.

He got back in bed, laying one arm over his eyes as he tried to make sense of what had happened. His memory loss was _really_ inconvenient sometimes.

Eventually, Ventus decided that the kiss and the reason behind it didn't matter. It had felt…_right_, and it had been so strange but enjoyable, too. He'd figure it out sometime—preferably in the morning.

And with that, the youngest apprentice slipped into the world of dreams, his thoughts still filled of Aqua and himself dancing near the riverbank, eyes never leaving the other, his steps so strong and sure…

_When it had been just us, under the moonlight…why'd it feel so right?_

~***~  
_**This story is dedicated to Gunbladez19, for his fateful reviews to my stories. Thanks! Sorry I had to edit your original prompt, but I honestly couldn't come up with a plausible reason for a portion of it…**_

_**To both Gunbladez19 and everyone else, I hope you'll forgive me for the quality of this. I usually write TerraxAqua, though I don't have anything against VenxAqua, so of course I still take requests for either of the pairings…They're just very different to write.**_

_**Would you kindly leave a review?**_


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